


Little Paws (Lead me to You)

by midnightmumblings



Category: SB19 (Band)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:15:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24661402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightmumblings/pseuds/midnightmumblings
Summary: There was a cat in Josh's apartment.He didn't own a cat.
Relationships: Josh Cullen Santos/Justin De Dios
Comments: 3
Kudos: 38





	Little Paws (Lead me to You)

**Author's Note:**

> Happy happy happy born day to one of my favorite people, Three Siya! I hope you enjoy this cute little fluffy piece I wrote. You are always awesome, and I'm so glad for you. I hope you enjoyed your day as well. Pa-shanghai naman dean char

There was a cat in his apartment.

Josh blinked twice, but when the cat didn’t disappear from the counter top, he realized that this may actually be happening. He slowly put down his groceries and gently closed the door behind him so as not to startle the poor thing. He didn’t fancy getting scratched.

“Hello there,” he cooed as he approached. The cat had a collar, thank goodness. He slowly reached forward, wary if the cat would strike or not, but when it didn’t, he gently patted it on the head, causing the feline to purr contentedly. 

“I didn’t realize I was going to get a visitor,” Josh said with a laugh as he looked at the collar. There was a large **J** engraved along with a number. He quickly got out his phone and dialled the number.

The line rang once before someone picked it up with a frantic “Hello?!”

“Hi, uh...my name is Josh.” He said, greeting the other person. “I think I have your cat?”

“Oh thank god!” The relief was palpable from the other man’s voice. “I’ve been losing my head trying to look for her everywhere! You have the right cat, yes? Calico, black collar?”

Josh looked at the cat that was currently rubbing itself against his arm. It was indeed a Calico wearing a black collar. “That’s right, sir. The collar’s also got a letter J engraved on it with your number.”

“Yes, yes that’s her! I can’t believe Juju got out. I really need to keep the windows shut in my apartment,” the man was saying before he stopped. “Oh, where are my manners. My name is Justin, by the way.”

“Well, Justin, if you can text me your address, I’ll be happy to drop Juju off for you.” Josh said as he picked up the cat. Surprisingly, it let him, purring loud like an engine. 

“Yes of course!” Justin replied with a happy sigh. “Thank you so much, Josh!”

Justin dropped the call after that, but two seconds later, Josh received a text with the man’s address. Justin lived nearby - in the neighboring apartment building - so Josh quickly grabbed his keys and the cat before he set out to meet this adorable girl’s owner.

He arrived at Justin’s apartment and he took a deep breath before he knocked on the door. Within seconds, the door opened with a swing, and Josh was greeted with the sight of an adorably frazzled boy. There was confusion on his features for a few seconds before his face stretched into a gummy smile at the sight of the cat cradled in Josh’s arms. “Juju!” He exclaimed, and Josh quickly handed the purring cat over.

“I hope she didn’t give you too much trouble,” Justin was saying, cradling her in his arms. “You must be Josh.” 

Josh nodded. “Yes, that’s me. She was an angel, don’t you worry. I was just very surprised to find her in my apartment.”

“Where do you live?” Justin asked him. “I do hope she didn’t stray too far. I’d feel bad if you had to walk a long way to get here.”

“No, I just live across the street, don’t worry,” Josh replied with a smile. “You better keep a tight leash on her, though.”

“Yeah, I might just,” Justin said, glaring playfully at the cat. “She had this habit, even back when I was at my old apartment. It’s why I try to make sure I keep all my windows sealed and doors locked. I must’ve missed closing one last night, though.”

“The city’s no place for a wandering kitty, especially not one as adorable as her,” Josh replied and Justin smiled at him brilliantly. Josh then cleared his throat. “Well, I better get going. I left my groceries out in the open, so I must get a move on if I don’t want to come home to melted ice cream.”

“Oh, yes of course! Thank you,” Justin said again. “I really appreciate you bringing Juju back.”

“It’s no problem at all.” Josh said as he stepped back. “Well, I’ll see you around.”

“See you!” Justin said before he closed the door gently.

Josh stared at the door for a moment before he shook his head and proceeded to make his way back to his apartment building. 

_Maybe it was just a chance meeting,_ Josh thought to himself later as he unpacked his groceries. _At least I returned his cat._

***

Josh wondered if he should text Justin.

He never deleted the adorable boy’s number, and he stared at it often, wondering if he should say something. Justin was cute, his gummy smile featuring in Josh’s mind repeatedly since they first met, and Josh had been so incredibly single for so long that he wanted to see if something could happen between them.

**Hi…** he backspaced, staring at the cursor that blinked as if mocking him for being too chickenshit.

**Hello! It’s Josh, I hope you remember me?**

Josh stared at the message before he immediately backspaced again. It sounded a little too creepy for his tastes. 

**Hey, what’s up?**

That was too casual, he decided seconds later as he erased the message. 

Then, an idea came to mind. He giggled like a teenager as he composed his message:

**Hey, it’s Josh from across the street. I brought your cat back. I was wondering, how is she doing?**

There. Josh figures if he asked after the cat, it wouldn’t be too creepy. His thumb hovered over his screen for a few seconds before he pressed **send.**

He then left his phone and proceeded to focus back on his work. It would hurt less if he didn’t expect a response. 

He stared at his laptop for all of five seconds before he dove back to his phone when he heard it vibrate.

_Hi, Josh! I remember you ^^. Juju is doing fine. In fact, she asked me to send you this picture of her._

Attached was a picture of the calico sitting in the sink, looking unimpressed at the camera. Josh couldn’t help the loud “awww” that he let out at the sight.

**That’s adorable** he texted back. 

_She’s been “meowsking” after you_ , came Justin’s response a few seconds later. Josh grinned at that.

**Has she now? I’ve been very busy, please send her my apologies.**

_She isn’t willing to converse now, sorry. Fell asleep on me again._

This time, a picture of Justin was attached, with the cat in question sleeping on his chest. Justin had an exasperated look on his face, and he looked so fucking adorable that Josh wanted to scream.

**I apologize for intruding on her beauty sleep** Josh texted back. 

_I’ll let her know when she wakes up w/c could take hours_ Justin replied with a few eye-roll emojis.

Josh laughed before he composed another message. 

**Alright, I’ll let her sleep.**

**Goodnight to her, and to her cute owner too.**

Justin’s response came minutes later.

_Goodnight to the cute guy that returned her, too <3_

Josh couldn’t help the grin that remained on his face for the rest of the night.

***

It somehow became a thing.

Josh would come home or wake up to find Juju in his apartment again and again. And every time, he would traipse over to Justin’s apartment to return her. 

Ken had joked that maybe the cat was their own personal cupid, trying to set him and Justin up. Josh brushed away the thought, but there was a small sliver of hope in his chest that maybe, just maybe, that was indeed the case.

Sejun was a bit more rational, explaining that maybe the cat had indeed taken a liking to Josh and was just wanting to see him again. Josh had no idea why Juju would take a liking to him, but in the short moments he gets to spend with the cat, he becomes increasingly enamored, so much so that he just has extra cans of cat food in his kitchen.

Stell, on the other hand, agreed with Ken, and found the whole thing romantic.

But, Josh really couldn’t complain. With every time he had to return Juju, he got to spend whatever time he could with Justin, who he was slowly getting to know on a more personal level. One of these days, Josh would get the courage to ask him out, but he was still testing the waters. He didn’t want to push after all.

So, they kept the routine, with Josh even purposefully leaving a small window open so Juju could come through.

He was okay with this arrangement so far.

He had to be.

***

Juju was back in his apartment.

Josh realized this because as soon as he woke up, there was a very familiar calico sitting on his chest.

“Hello,” he murmured, reaching up to pet the cat that immediately nuzzled his hand. “It’s nice to see you again, but I’m sure your owner is getting worried by now.” 

The cat looked at him quizzically before deciding to settle atop his chest, purring loudly. Josh sighed, shaking his head with a laugh.

He gently pushed her off his chest and she landed on the bedding without much protest, letting out a soft mew as she snuggled into his sheets. 

Josh watched her for a moment before he reached out for his phone and immediately dialled Justin’s number.

“So, yeah, I think I have something of yours,” he said once Justin picked up. There was a loud sigh heard on the other line followed by a chuckle.

“I had hoped so,” Justin said laughing. “She wasn’t too much trouble for you, was she?”

“Absolutely not. She’s always a delight.” Josh replied, laughing. “Anyways, I just woke up and she was already here. I don’t know how long she had been sitting on my chest, and watching me sleep, though.”

Justin groaned. “Oh god, I am so sorry. She's taken a real liking to you, I can't believe it.”

“I’m not complaining,” Josh said, grinning stupidly. “I think she’s really cute! Are you at your place now? I’ll bring her over.”

“Oh, really? I’d greatly appreciate it, Josh.”

“No problem at all, Justin. I’ll see you in a few.” Josh responded before he said his goodbyes and hung up.

He then stared at the Calico before he picked her up in his arms. “Alright, let’s get you back to your daddy.” 

Dressed in just a shirt and basketball shorts, Josh then made the short trek back to Justin’s apartment, Juju cradled in his arms. Justin greeted him at the door, wearing very cute pajamas, and Josh wanted to melt at how adorable he was.

“Thank you so much,” Justin said, taking Juju in his arms. “I can’t believe she managed to escape again.”

“Yeah, lucky she found her way back to my apartment or else who knows what would have happened.” Josh replied. He watched for a moment as Juju mewed happily in Justin’s arms, and he wonders if it was rational to be jealous of a cat.

He then sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Oh,” Justin paused. “You’re leaving? Are you in a rush?”

Josh stopped short. This was new. Justin never asked him if he was in a rush, and he most certainly didn’t linger by the doorway, looking hopeful. Josh didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he wouldn’t know if he didn't try. 

“Well, it’s Saturday, so not really.” He replied. “Why, do you have any plans?”

“Would uh...would you like to have some breakfast with us?” Justin asked almost shyly. “I don’t think Juju is ready to part with you yet.”

Josh grinned at him, ducking his head. “Are you sure it’s Juju who doesn’t want to say goodbye?”

“Well,” Justin said teasingly. “Maybe her single owner too would like to spend a little bit more time with the handsome stranger that took care of her.”

“I guess the handsome stranger would like that, too.” Josh replied, and Justin laughed, a brilliant smile on his face as he stepped aside to let Josh into his apartment.

And well, it was the start of something new.

*****Three Months Later*****

“Love, where’s Juju?” Josh called out once he entered the apartment, arms laden with boxes.

“She’s with me, love,” Justin replied, poking his head out from one of the rooms. 

Josh sighed in relief. “Oh thank god, I thought we lost her.”

“You wouldn’t let that happen,” Justin pointed out with a laugh. “You love her too much.”

Josh grinned as he walked over to press a kiss onto Justin’s lips. “That I do. She led me to you, after all.”

“Yes, that was all part of my dastardly plan. Let my cat escape the apartment and land into some handsome guy’s window so I can date them,” Justin replied with a laugh. He kissed Josh again, pulling the older close. “And so I can move in with them, too. My plan is working.”

“I’m liking this plan of yours, love,” Josh grinned at him, wrapping his arms around Justin’s waist. “Tell me, what else do you have planned?”

A loud meow echoed in the apartment, and they both looked down to see Juju approach them before she started rubbing up against their legs. Josh bent over and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. Juju let out a loud purr, seemingly content in his arms.

“Well, maybe my plans can wait until this little one is fed,” Justin pointed out, grinning. Josh rolled his eyes. 

“Ever the cock-block,” he muttered, but he was smiling at her. “Alright, let’s feed her and get her out of the way. I have so much planned for our first night in our new apartment.”

Justin grinned back. “And I can’t wait.”


End file.
